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2015 Team Chile Retreat

Team Chile has a great team building experience called "The Annual Retreat." It was held this last week at the "Casa Colonial." I would venture to say that a GREAT time was had by all--once we got there, that is......there was a car that broke down, a car that had a flat tire, two drivers that got sick last minute, lots of last minute packing up, and several other challenges to get there! HOWEVER, to God be the Glory, those who set out made it there safely, and it was a good time of relaxation and reconnecting with fellow team members!
When we got there, there were designated rooms for each person/couple/family. Each room even had a little sign labeled to help show people around!

Here is a glance at one side of our room. Brian was trying to establish internet connection so that we could blog, but it was to no avail.....so? Here we are blogging about it this week!

They must've known that there are now three in our family because they gave us a bed in our room for our little guy.......unfortunately the bed they provided was not quite age appropriate! hahahaha! :0) We used it as a storage shelf as you can see.....

The bathroom was also quaint and clean--two things to be VERY grateful for! If you look closely, you can see me taking this photo.....I didn't realize that till looking at the picture twice!

One thing that was extremely unique about this particular retreat setting was that it wasn't in a lodge where all the rooms were connected indoors--the rooms all opened up to the outdoors! It was beautiful! We really appreciated being out of the city and under the starts and sky again.....it did wonders for the soul!

We were a large group--about 50 people, I think, with children included. I will put out the disclaimer, however, that I am spatially challenged and can have a hard time accurately determining how big a group actually is. So? Here's a pic of a good portion of the group as we all gathered in the meeting room for a special song presentation.

There is a couple on our team, Bob and Becky Patten, who are involved in deaf ministry here within Santiago. Becky joined forces with me for an afternoon session to perform a song entitled, "In the Valley," by Sovereign Grace Music. She signed while I sang.......SO COOL!!!

On a side note, I had considered singing a different song initially, but it was a little more upbeat.......it was a first for me to try and sing while pregnant, and boy, was I ever glad I practiced!!!! I quickly discovered that there are different challenges to singing while pregnant--mainly, it's difficult to BREATHE! hahahahaha! I settled on this slower tune, and it is one of my all-time favorites anyways. The children also did a special at the end of the week. They recited the armor of God which is found in Ephesians 6 in the Bible....I was really impressed!!!!

There were sessions for adults and separate sessions for the youth and children in an effort to reach everybody by being age appropriate. What a blessing! Pictured from left to right are the leaders in charge receiving gifts of gratitude for their service from the team:

There were so many great conversations and sessions had over the course of our time with the team.....it's hard to pick one to share. However, I will share a lesson I learned: Edification is not ONLY important; it's VITAL to the health of a team! One of our last activities as a team was to make a circle and share qualities and attributes that we appreciate about fellow team members with one another. It boosted my spirit to not only receive edification, but to hear it and even more surprising to hear it not just of myself but of the people I'm working with! It seems as though everyone knows one another on different levels, but it was so glorious to hear and see things in my teammates from the mouths of other teammates that I sometimes neglect to see.......what a blessing and what an eye opener!﻿

With the reminder of the importance it is to "retreat" sometimes and regroup and revitalize, I was also reminded of the need to "Steal Away to Jesus....." I need to RETREAT into His care at times so that I am able to face the challenges that come my way. I give God the glory for a great getaway!

The retreat seemed to have gone great! I bet everyone had a grand time! It was nice of Becky to help you out with the songs through sign language. It shows that you guys work as an effective team. I can see that you also had activities for the adults, which is great. Thanks for sharing this lovely post!